Preston for teens: A young person’s guide to Preston

The city centre is the heart of Preston. Most of the main shops are situated down Fishergate, a well-constructed high street and Friargate which is just around the corner.

From clothes to café’s, the city centre consists of various different shops that meet the needs of everyone.

The city centre has a lively feel and is a place where people congregate, socialise and enjoy their weekends, and money isn’t even an issue. Shops such as the ‘pound bakery’ offer cheap (but at the same time delicious) food that can save you from burning holes in your pocket but still keep you going.

You will often find that the flag market has stages put up for diverse live performers to keep you entertained and the jolly atmosphere intact. A place to feel safe, have a good time, catch up with friends, and take a load off, that’s what the city offers.

Take a detour down Winkley Street and then through Winkley Square and you’ll find yourself in Avenham, a stylish and scenic park; a great place to relax on a hot summers day, or a beautiful river to look out on from the Avenham café in the colds of winter.

Avenham Park is a place where the youth socialise, hang out with friends, and enjoy one of Preston’s proudest luxuries.

Preston offers a number of fun and exciting activities to do in your spare time. The city has other parks that you can enjoy such as Haslam Park (Ashton) and Moor park (Deepdale).

There are various cinemas that are easily accessible around the city, such the Odeon Cinemas by the Preston Docks and the Vue Cinemas situated at the Capital Centre, neighboured to a bowling alley (and a Zap zone!).

There are skate parks, football pitches and sports arenas available to book time to utilise their quality facilities, such as the BAE all weather pitch and Cottom Sports arena.

Fancy something different? Preston FM is a local and voluntary radio station situated at the far end of town down St Wilfrid Street. The radio station offers people a chance to get involved to either help out or start hosting their own radio shows. The radio station has all the professional equipment and offers you a fun, new exciting experience not everyone gets the opportunity to have. You can choose your own topics, your own music and your own ideas to go into your show and you can get your friends to tune in and listen. (Also, it won’t look too bad on your CV’s either!)

The Deepdale football stadium, home to Preston’s beloved ‘North End’. On match day you can hear the roar of the proud ‘Prestonians’. The majestic stadium holds over twenty three thousand people and stands proudly on Deepdale Road.

This is the place where the footie enthusiast’s come together in unity and cheer on their cherished team. The stadium has a statue and water fountain in the middle of the car park of (as North end fans would call him) legend Sir Tom Finney, this is a popular attraction and a lot of people like to have their photos taken in front of it. As well as being entertained by the sport the stadium is filled with all sorts of different people and offers a chance to meet new friends who share the love for Preston with you, or just to shout abuse at the referee with!

The city contains various different gyms with various different activities that you can participate in. West View located just off the far end of Ribbleton lane offers rock climbing lessons, gymnastics, and football and also has two swimming pools of different lengths.

This like most of the other gyms in Preston has various different activities you can take part it and keep active through. They are places to have enjoyable experiences in and just as important as that relax and let off some steam.

Joe Gawne studies at Runshaw College and lives in Preston. He took all the photos in this post.

If you’re under-18 where is your favourite place to hang out in Preston? Let us know what you like to do in the city in the comments below